Missouri Spring Football Position Preview: Running backs
After producing its best season in nine years and a win over Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl, Missouri's beeline toward a berth in the 12-team College Football Playoffs begins sometime in the next 10-14 days when spring practice starts, with the Black and Gold spring game taking place on March 16.
Until then, we will preview the 2024 roster by doing position-by-position previews. Next, we'll look at the running backs.
The starter: Last year, Cody Schrader had arguably the best season of any running back in program history.
He broke Tyler Badie's single-season rushing record of 1,604 yards by racking up 1,627 yards to go along with his 14 touchdowns en route to a host of awards, including the Burlsworth Trophy and an AP first-team All-American selection.
However, Schrader is now off to the NFL Combine to start a new chapter in his career, and the Tigers have three new backs on the roster looking to take over where he left off.
Those running backs are, Georgia State transfer Marcus Carroll, Appalachian State transfer Nate Noel and four-star signee Kewan Lacy.
They’ll be joining soon-to-be redshirt sophomore Tavorus Jones and soon-to-be redshirt freshman Jamal Roberts.
Carroll was Georgia State's Schrader to put it simply. Almost to the tee. Only a couple of pounds separate Carroll and Schrader. So, not only are they the same size but they have similar playing styles.
They’re both north and south runners, who have a low center of gravity and always keep the chains moving.
While Schrader ended the year as the third-leading rusher in the FBS, Carroll was 10th at 1,350 yards.
Logic tells you that the team doesn’t bring in another running back that probably could literally and figuratively fill the shoes of Schrader, just to not be the feature back.
The backups: Noel rushed for over 3,000 total yards at App State, which featured a 1,126-yard and four-touchdown season in 2021.
He is the Mountaineers' eighth all-time leading rusher.
At 5-foot-11 and 200 pounds, Roberts possesses size and speed. He can churn out some tough runs or break off a monster gain. The same can be said for Lacy, who will not be joining the team until the summer.
Although the notion that Carroll will be the starter is the expectation, no role is guaranteed for anyone yet at this position. So, Jones, like the rest of the backs on the roster, will have a chance to earn their way into the rotation.
Storyline to watch for: Carroll will probably be RB1 but who will be RB2? Nathaniel Peat has run out of eligibility. So, the RB2 role he’s held for the better part of two seasons will have to be filled by someone new.
One could assume Noel's experience would slot him into that role, but maybe not. Roberts could be that back with Noel serving in more of a third-down back kind of role. Possibly vice-versa.
Also, who is the odd man out? The last couple of years Jones has seemingly been that player. At most, three running backs may see touches in a season for the Tigers with two backs splitting most of the workload.
Even if Lacy is expected to redshirt, there are still four other backs competing for three spots on the depth chart.
PowerMizzou's prediction: Carroll will be RB1 going into the Black and Gold game and Noel and Roberts will be splitting RB2 snaps evenly. It may be a battle that goes into fall camp, so there's not much of a rush to determine an RB2 at the moment.
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